what a pile of CRAB!!

When I first thought of the idea for this card, it even made me chuckle, and....as usual involved a load of fussy cutting (good job I love doing it). The little crab  and big crab are both rubber stamps from Hambo Stamps, the wording is computer generated, the little eyelets at the bottom are meant to look like starfish... (ok, stretch your imagination a bit!), and as it is the Hambo Hoedown today and the theme is "eyelets" I thought this would be perfect for the challenge, and hopefully make you chuckle too.

you COLOUR my world

The Hambo hoedown challenge for this week over at Hambo Stamps is all about stripes!! well it is a known fact...(well...known to me, as I am probably the only one that reads my blog..boo hoo) that I hardly do patterns, I just don't have an eye for that sort of thing, I think I am a bit beige!!! my friend even takes the micky out of me because it has taken me 15 years to go from white emulsioned walls to.....wait for it!!!....magnolia!!! It's not that I dont like patterns, it's just that I cannot live with it,  but I really admire people that have a colourful imagination, my friend is loud and bold and her decor reflects her personality, I must be beige, predictable and well.... boring!!! (I'm not really, just too safe and careful sometimes). Anyway, back to this weeks hoedown, like I said this weeks challenge is stripes. I don't know why I chose to work with the MOUSE PAINTER digi image apart from the fact that he is a cutie, and I imagined him painting not in stripes but "tartan" !!! there is a standing joke at work when somebody new starts, we send them to the shop for some tartan paint....I'm giggling now thinking about it, other things on the list are, a long stand, a bubble for a spirit level, and the worse one... some clitoris mints (gulp). boy oh boy am I getting sidetracked today, back to the mouse painter digi image, so that is how my mind went from tartan paint to stripey paint, I also used part of the "you rock my world" rubber stamp, I just omitted the "rock" and replaced it with "colour" generated from my computer.  Please hop along and take a look on the Hambo Stamps site, they do rubber stamps, clear stamps, digi images, and lots of accessories and paper, they have the wickedest sense of humor and I just love them.

paint the town RED

The challenge this week at the Hambo Hoedown is a sketch challenge, drawn by the wonderfully talented friend and co design team member Deborah of  beadnstampn. I like doing sketch challenges because half the idea is already there for you, but "me being me" has to try and make it complicated by trying to put a bit of a different angle on it, when i saw the semicircle where the sentiment should be, all I could see was a huge sun. As I did not have any washi tape...wonderful stuff!! I considered making my own with tissue paper and double sided tape, but I went to the store to buy some insect spray to obliterate the little bugs feeding on my lovely chilli plants....Grrrrrrrr pesky things!!!! anyway, I saw some washi tape there so the idle in me bought that instead. I like the way this card turned out, the red SKYLINE, a rubber stamp by Hambo Stamps, in the polaroid frame has been sitting on my craft desk for a while thinking of how to use it...and now is the time, I loved doing the fake paint splats with a red stazon ink refill bottle I have, I considered using glossy accents over but thought it might resemble blood too much.

FOILED AGAIN!!

My friend and design team co-ordinator for Hambo Stamps, the very talented Judy from Joy in A Jar is featuring my metal foil tape art cards today at the "try a new technique" challenge, so I made this extra card to go with them. HERE is a link on youtube to give you some idea on how to do it. The only problem with doing this sort of thing is that I cannot stop, while I am doing it, my mind is racing onto what else I can do next, I adore this look, and although it is a bit time consuming, I think the results are soooo worth it, seriously, it is so much fun,  so head on down to the local hardware store, grab some metal foil tape, some self adhesive plasterboard (drywall) tape, and some black acrylic paint and give this fabulously fun and very addictive technique a go, I guarantee that after the first attempt, you will be looking around your home to see what else you can alter.............SOMEBODY STOP ME!!!!!!!!     The image I have used is the too too cute Thief Of Hearts digi image by Hambo Stamps.

"Over the rainbow"

As I was contemplating what to do with this weeks hoedown challenge over at Hambo Stamps, which is to incorporate office supplies with your project, I noticed a pink paper clip on my work desk, I remembered having a stash of brightly colored paper clips somewhere, so I dug them out and started playing around with them, and that is when I thought maybe a rainbow, (I was just missing an orange one) so I colored a white one with my promarkers, et voila!. Thought the rainbow would go well with the LEPRECHAUN rubber stamp, I also used the IRISH YOU sentiment, and the CLOUD rubber stamp. Well I must dash, I am taking my son to lunch for his birthday, he is 24 today, my... how time flies!

Red, White, & Blue and Priest Idol too

As it is Independence day in America tomorrow, Hambo Stamps have chosen a red, white and blue color challenge in this week Hambo Hoedown. I have used the very cute Bailey Liberty digi image, the much loved and very versatile Skyline rubber stamp, and the cloud rubber stamp for my 4th of July card. I only know one American personally, Father James McCaskill, he came to our village about 6 years ago to be priest at the local church, the BBC made a documentary of him, it was called Priest Idol, he is a wonderful and inspiring priest, he has moved back to pittsburgh now, I miss him. does anyone reading this know who I mean? I have added a photo of my baptism day with Father James.

"Summer Fun"

I have made this card for todays Splitcoaststampers CAS card challenge where the title is "Summer Fun" I immediately thought of my BEACH PIG rubber stamp from Hambo Stamps. Their little piggies are the cutest things.I used torn sandpaper for the sand and added some of my favorite thing to use at the moment...rafia.